Method of making a spirally wound container



July 5, 1960 J, c m

METHOD OF. MAKING A SPIRALLY WOUND CONTAINER Filed Jan. 24, 1958 FIG.

W :A m8 m0 M NH T E N N E K N H O IU II II II .vl vnwm rll ATT'Y UnitedStates Patent 0.

i 2,943,540 METHOD OF A SPIRALLY WOUND "CONTAINER John Kenneth MeBain,Chicago, 111., assignorto W C. Ritchie & Co., Chicago, 111., acorporation of Illinois Filed Jan. 24, 1958, Ser. No. 710,939

' 14 Claims. CI. 93-94 This invention relates generally to the art ofwinding tubing and more particularly, is concerned with a spirally woundcontainer in which the wall of the container has a substantial portionthereoftransparent sons to, enable the contents of the container to beseen, and, in addition, with a method of forming the container.

It has been known to form containers of paper and chipboard orcardboard, in which the wall of the container is in' the form ofspirals, but so far as I have been able to determine, the structure andmethod described and claimed herein have never been accomplished.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a container in whichthe Wall of the container is formed of spirals including a spiral oftransparent material, so that the resulting container is partiallytransparent to enable the: merchandise packaged therein to be visible.Additionally, an object of the invention is to provide a novel method offorming such container.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a spirally woundcontainer which has a partially transparent wall which is veryeconomical and has unusual strength.

Other objects will appear 'as the description of the invention is setforth,-in which several difierent modifications of the invention aredescribed as illustrative of the preferred embodiment;

In the drawings: 1

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of apparatus showing the manner inwhich one formrof the invention is made, the illustration beingdiagrammatic in order to enable a discussion of the method and resultingproduct.

Figs.'2 and 3 are views similar to that of Fig. 1 bug showing themanufacture of two different forms of the container.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views through the walls of the containersof Figs. 1, 2 and 3 respectively to show the construction at the jointsbetween spirals.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a completed container.

At the outset, it is desired to point out that the container of theinvention comprises a cylindrical wall which is designated generally 10in Fig. 7 and a bottom cup-like clo-. sure12 which is glued or cementedto the botom of the cylindrical wall in any well-known manner, or whichmay be held on fn'ctionally or by self-adhering tape or the like. Thestructure which is of importance herein is the wall 10, and the methodof forming the same, it being usual in the art to form the walls ofcontainers of this type as continuous lengths of tubing, providing meansfor cutting the tubing to the desired lengths for the particularcontainer.

Because of this, the description will be detailed as to the constructionand formation of the walls of the various base or framework 16 which hasan elongate metal mandre l '18 fixedly secured thereto, usuallyextending horizon- Patented July 5, 1960 tally, which would mean thatFig. 1 is a view in top plan. This mandrel is very smooth and it extendsto a machine for cutting the tubing into lengths, which is not shownhere.

As will be seen, there are three reels of relatively nar-v row stripmaterial show at 20, 22 and 24 and from each reel a narrow strip orribbon of material is led to helically engage about the mandrel 18; Theparticular materials in this view comprise, first, a strip 26 offlexible, trans-. parent acetate cellulose which is unwound from thereel 20; a strip of relatively stiff paper or chipboard 28 which, isunwound from the reel 22; and finally a narrow strip of calendared orsmooth surface paper 30 which preferably;

has surface ornamentation in the form of color or some design,which isunwound from the reel 24.

Each of the strips is laid upon the mandrel in a spiral drawing aremerely to illustrate more clearly the mannerin whichthe tubing is formedand the appearance of the bottom surfaces of the different strips.

The twisting and axial movement represented by arrow 34 is achieved bydriving the strips to provide this movement as they are laid upon themandrel. The strip 26 engages the bottom of the mandrel 18 from theright and is directedacross the top from the left. As it passes over thebottom it is fiictionally engaged by a belt36, a section of which isshown in'theview, the belt partially wrapping the strip about themandrel 18 and driving the strip by virtue of movement of the belt 36 inthe direction indi-v cated by the arrow 38. g The next strip 28 is ledfrom reel. 22 .which is located to the left of the mandrel. 18 andvhence when the strip 28 is laid upon the mandrel 18, it engages the topthereof moving from left to right. An-

otherbelt v40 engages this strip 28 and presses the same against themandrel 18, this belt moving in the direction,

indicatedby the arrow. 42. .The belt 40 is shown in brokenilines so thatthe formation of the tubing member 32 may be seen more readily.

Note. that the width of the strip 26 and the pitch of the helix withwhich it is laid .upon the mandrel 18 is chosen sothat the side-by-sideturns of the transparent strip are slightly spaced apart. This is bestshown in Fig. 4 whereina sectional view of two side-by-side turns of thetransparentstrip 26 is illustrated spaced apart at 44. The

chipboard ,or stiff paper strip 28 is laid upon the previously laiddownformation centered overthe space 44 so that it 1 forms lap joints withadjacent turns of the strip 26.

The chipboard of stiff paper strip 28 is provided on its underside withan adhesivedesignated 46 which may be of any'suitable type, such as, forexample, a pressure adhesive, water-soluble cement, or the like, and thestrip, 28 may have been prepared with this adhesive before being securedto the reel 22. Other techniques would be included, such as passing thestrip through a paste or glue machine or into contact with some form ofad hesive fountain positioned between the reel 22 and the mandrel 18.This is designated generally at 48 in broken lines, no particular formof such means being intended, it being desired merely to diagram thesame.

The effect of the securement of the strip 28 is to stiffen and supportthe tubing member 32 being formed. The adhesive 46 may be applied on theentire undersurface of the strip 28 to provide maximum strength. Thepres: ence of the space 44 will not be disadvantageous because theexposed bottom surface of the strip 28 will not usually contact themandrel 18, but if it does, it is a simple mat- I ter to apply theadhesive 46 in areas along the edges of the strip 28 so as not tointerfere with the ready sliding of the formed tubing 32 along themandrel 18. p The last strip' 30 isshown of width -'slightl y greaterthan the strip 28 and is appliedby'rneans 6f 'a, similar belt 50pressing same-against the bottom of the mandrel 18 centered over thealready laid down strip 28 so as to cover and overlap the same onthegedges thereof as shown at 54 in Fig. 4. Adhesive 56 is provided onthe bottom surface of the strip 30 by any suitable meanssuch as, forexample, a fountain 58 shown diagrammatically in broken lines. V

Although reference has been hadjtothreegbelts 36, 40

and 50 for driving the respective strips during the fo r-.

mation of the tubing, usualtechm'ques provide for the use of pulleysystems which enable the same belt member driven by a single rotarysource to be directedback and forth into engagement with .all of thestrips as described so that the linear movement of .the belt against allstrips is identical. V

The resulting tubing 32 has great strength and utility. The wall thereofis formed as a'spiral of some ornamental paper and a spiral oftransparent material side by side. The crushing and collapsing strengthof the resulting tubing, as well as the containers formed therefrom, issubstantially greater than the crushing and collapsing strength whichone would conceive possible through the use of the flexible transparentmaterial alone. Furthermore, the likelihood of the adjacent turns of thetransparent material separating is considerably decreased, it beingknown that it is exceedingly diflicultto bond such materials together atthe great speeds .required in this art. The container which isformedfrom this tubing has a substantial portion thereof transparentwhich enables the merchandise placed therein to be readily seen andexamined by the purchaser. In addition this container is extremelyeconomical to manufacture in mass-production quantities and with the,equipment already present in most factories manufacturing paper andcardboard tubing of this kind. Thus, in the container the flexible,transparent material has been stifiened to anunexpected degree providingunusual-strength for such a material.

Two other forms of tubing are illustrated. In Figs. 2 and 5 there isillustrated a length of tubing 60 similarly formed on the mandrel 18 inwhich there are also three strips. The first strip which is laid uponthemandrel 18 is a transparent strip 62 whose width and pitch are chosen sothat there is a slight overlap at 64. While adhesive may be applied tothe edges of the strip 62 in an attempt to adhere the overlappedportions 64, the necessity therefor is not too great. The result of theoverlapped portions 64 is to slightly stiffen the resulting spiral sothat a wider transparent strip may be used without loss of strength. Thenext strip laid down is a cardboard or chipboard stiffening member 66followed by. an ornamental or colored strip 68 which overlaps both edgesof the stiffening strip 66. It is desired to point out that the outerstrip 68 which is laid down directly along the path of the stiffeningstrip 66 also adds to the strength of the resulting tubing formation 60.The direction of movement of the member 60 is as shown at 70.

The structure which is shown in Figs. 3 and 6 comprises a relativelyeconomical tubing member 72 formed of two strips 74 and 76. The strip 74is a transparent member of acetate cellulose or the like, which is laiddown in overlapped spiral formation upon the mandrel 18 in substantiallythe same manner as the transparent strip 62 of the formation 70. The.overlapped portions 78 may or may not be cemented together, and providestiffness to the resulting formation. The second strip 76 is laid downin a spiral .upon the overlapped junctures, and as will be seen it isquite narrow so thatthe resulting tubing formation 72 as well as thecontainer .10 into which it will be formed will have a much greaterrelative transparent area than either of the formations 32 or 60.

This formation 72 is highly economical because the second strip member76 may comprise ordinary commercially available industrialpressure-sensitive tape of any suitable color. Such industrial tape isnow available on cellophane or other transparent media in color or withornamental designs already applied. ,The usual spiral winding techniquesare in nowise interfered with by the use of this tape, and hence it isquite economical to set up the machine for the manufacture of thistubing 72 and the resulting product is strong, useful, :and has largetransparent areas.

As stated above, the containers I0 are formed by cutting the tubingmembers to any desired length and applying a bottom closure 12 thereto.Top closures of the same structure are also applied after the goods havebeen placed inside the containers.

It is believed that the invention has been fully set forth herein suchas to enable those skilled in art to understand how to manufacture thecontainers of the invention, and to understand the construction andoperation thereof.

I claim:

l. The method of producing a spirally wound .container from at least twostrips of flexible material in.a substantially continuous process andthe container is characterized by a cylindrical wall havingmajorportions thereof transparent; unwinding one of said strips undertension and at uniform speed from a reel supported laterally spaced fromthe axis of a.mandrel arranged horizontally and engaging the strip on asurface of the mandrel in a spiral movement, unwinding the second stripunder tension and at a uniform speed from a reel supported laterallyspaced from the axis of the mandrel on a side thereof opposite to thatof the first. mentioned reel and engaging the second strip ontheexterior of the first strip overlapping the marginal edges ofadjacent turns of the first strip, said one strip being of a flexibletransparent material greater in width than the second strip and thesecond strip'having the surface thereof next ad-. jacent the first stripadhesive coated, said strips being engaged upon the mandrel respectivelyfrom below and above the same in a spiral of substantially identicalpitch.

2. The methodlas described in claim 1 in which .the pitch of spiralmovement of the transparent strip and the width of said transparentstrip is selected so that marginal edges of adjacent turns of thetransparent strip overlap.

3. The method as described in claim 1 in which the pitch of spiralmovement of the transparent strip is selected so that the marginal edgesof adjacent turnsof the transparent strip are axially spaced apart, anda third strip is secured across said spaced apart edges ahead of thesecond strip whereby the second strip is superimposed on said thirdstrip, said third strip being peeled from a reel laterally spaced fromthe axis of thermandrel on the same side as the reel carrying thetransparent strip.-

4. The method as described in claim .1 in which the pitch of the spiralmovement of said transparentstripis selected so that the transparentstrip has the marginal edges of adjacent turns thereof overlapped, and athird strip of strengthening material is adhesively secured around saidoverlapped marginal edges ahead of the second strip so as to besandwiched between said other two strips.

5. The method as described in claim -4 in which the third strip isunwound from a reel located laterally from and spaced on the same sideof the mandrel axis as .the reel carrying said transparent strip.

-6. The method as described in claim 2 in which each of said strips isfrictionally driven into engagementwith the mandrel.

7. The method as described in claim 3 in which each of the strips isfrictionally driven-into-engagement with the mandrel.

,8. The method as described in claim 4 m which each of the strips isfrictionally driven into engagement with the mandrel.

9. The method as described in claim 3 in which said third strip iswrapped on the mandrel from the same direction of movement as thetransparent strip.

1-0. The method as described in claim 4 in which said third strip ishelically wound on the mandrel from the same direction of movement asthe transparent strip.

11. A method of producing a spirally wound container having asubstantial portion of the body thereof transparent, by winding aplurality of strips of flexible material into a continuous bonded tube,which comprises: spirally Winding a first transparent strip onto atube-forming mandrel to form an interior layer for said container andspirally winding thereon a second strip having at least its interiorsurface provided with adhesive and being of a width substantially lessthan that of said first strip, the said second strip being wound uponthe first strip in overlapping relation to adjacent edges of said firststrip to cover the same and bond the resulting continuous tube into anintegral body.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 in which said second strip comprisesa tape member having pressure sensitive adhesive on the inner facethereof and is applied under tension as to cause adherence thereof.

13. A method as claimed in claim 11 in which there is a third flexiblestrip spirally wound upon said first strip prior to the winding of saidsecond strip, said third flexible strip being narrower than said secondstrip and of a stifiening material to strengthen the resulting tube.

14. A method of forming a continuous spiral wound tube upon atube-forming mandrel which comprises winding a first strip oftransparent flexible material upon said tube with the edges adjacent oneanother, winding a second strip of flexible material having a relativelystiller character upon said first strip in overlapping relation to saidedges, and winding a third strip upon the second, the third str-iphaving an ornamental exterior surface and being adhesive-coated on itsinterior surface whereby to maintain the resulting continuous tube inbonded assembly, the first strip having a width substantially greaterthan the other two whereby a substantial spiral of said transparentstrip is arranged along the length of said tube to expose the interiorthereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS278,957 Heft June 5, 1883 409,171 *Coas Aug. 20, 1889 470,738 BaylesMar. 15, 1892 986,960 Anderson Mar. 14, 1911 1,156,332 Vaughn Oct. 12,1915 1,740,828 Morrison Dec. 24, 1929 1,894,295 Scandore 2- Jan. 17,1933 1,932,169 Allen Oct. 24, 1933 1,985,997 Keeran Jan. 1, 19352,046,138 Tucker June 30, 1936 2,130,355 Magill Sept. 20, 1938 2,176,955Clow Oct. 24, 1939 2,192,923 Magill Mar. 12, 1940 2,262,242 Lenox Nov.11, 1941 2,623,445 Robinson Dec. 30 1952 2,751,936 Dunlap et al. June26, 1956

